barry is just your typical lying, liberal politician. nothing new here. no change. just the same old same old.
On Dec 24, 10:52 am, "[email protected]" <[email protected]> wrote: > By NEDRA PICKLER > drudge.com > > WASHINGTON (AP) - President-elect Barack Obama and two of his top > aides met last week with federal investigators building a corruption > case against Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, accused of trying to swap > Obama's Senate seat for cash or a lucrative job. > > The interviews with Obama, along with incoming chief of staff Rahm > Emanuel and adviser Valerie Jarrett, were disclosed Tuesday in an > internal report produced for Obama on contacts with Blagojevich. Obama > delayed releasing his report until those interviews were completed > with U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald's staff, incoming White House > attorney Greg Craig said in the review he wrote for Obama. > > Obama had no contact with the governor or his aides, the report > states. Prosecutors have said Obama is not implicated in the case. > > Emanuel was the only Obama transition team member who discussed the > Senate appointment with Blagojevich, and those conversations were > "totally appropriate and acceptable," Craig said Tuesday. No one on > Obama's transition team discussed any deals or had any knowledge of > deals, Craig's report said. > > Sources have said Emanuel is not a target in the case. Jarrett was > never a target of the federal investigation, a transition official > said. > > Craig's report identified close Obama friend Eric Whitaker as someone > approached by one of Blagojevich's top aides to learn "who, if anyone, > had the authority to speak for the president-elect" about the Senate > appointment. > > The report states that Obama told Whitaker that "no one was authorized > to speak for him" and that "he had no interest in dictating the result > of the selection process." > > Blagojevich was charged on Dec. 9 with plotting to use his governor's > authority to appoint Obama's Senate replacement and make state > appointments and contracts in exchange for cash and other favors. He > has denied any criminal wrongdoing and has resisted multiple calls for > his resignation, including one from Obama. > > During Emanuel's interview with federal authorities, he listened to a > taped recording of a conversation with Blagojevich's office, according > to a transition official who spoke on condition of anonymity because > the person was not authorized to discuss information not included in > the report. > > Craig's report states that Emanuel had "one or two telephone calls" > with Blagojevich and four conversations with John Harris, the > governor's chief of staff who later resigned after being charged in > the federal case. Craig told reporters Emanuel said he couldn't be > sure it was only one call. > > Emanuel left for a long-planned family vacation in Africa on Tuesday > and was not available for comment. > > The report was released in Washington while Obama was vacationing in > Hawaii. The president-elect did not make himself available for > questions. > > The report said Obama authorized Emanuel to pass on the names of four > people he considered to be highly qualified to take over his seat - > Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes, Illinois Veterans' Affairs Director > Tammy Duckworth, Rep. Jan Schakowsky and Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. > > Obama later offered other names of what he thought were qualified > candidates, including Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Chicago Urban > League Director Cheryle Jackson, the report said. > > "Mr. Harris did not make any effort to extract a personal benefit for > the governor in any of these conversations," the report said. There > was no discussion of a Cabinet position, creation of a nonprofit > foundation for Blagojevich, a private sector position or of any other > personal benefit for the governor, according to the report. > > The report said that earlier, Emanuel recommended Jarrett for the > Senate seat without Obama's knowledge, and Jarrett later accepted a > job as a senior White House adviser. > > Craig revealed his findings into a memo to Obama. The memo was dated > Tuesday, but a transition official said an initial copy was given to > Obama on Dec. 15. On that day, Obama announced that the report was > ready but that he was withholding it from public release for a week at > the request of the U.S. attorneys still conducting their > investigation. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
